Do service firms benefit from diversification? the moderating effect of competitive intensity and firm size

2012 ◽  
pp. 87-103
Author(s):  
Claudio Giachetti

Despite much ado about the effectiveness of ‘product' diversification, there is very limited knowledge about the impact of ‘service' diversification on firm performance. By taking a resource-based perspective, this study explores the service diversificationperformance relationship. Results show a consistent inverse U-shaped relationship between service diversification and firm performance, with the slope positive at low and moderate levels of service diversification but negative at high levels of service diversification. Moreover, results show that competitive intensity negatively moderates the relationship between service diversification and performance, while the moderating effect of firm's size is not significant. Hypotheses are tested with data on 52 Italian facility management firms over the 2000-2009 time period.

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 315-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blendi Gerdoçi ◽  
Guido Bortoluzzi ◽  
Sidita Dibra

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature on business model (BM) design by deepening the relationship between BM design themes and performance in a sample of firms based in a developing country. In particular, the authors deepen the relationship between business model novelty (BMN), business model efficiency (BME), the trade-off between novelty and efficiency – that the authors call BM ambidexterity – and performance. Design/methodology/approach Data are drawn from a sample of 107 manufacturing and service firms based in a developing country (Albania). Hierarchical regression is used to assess the impact on firm performance from the two BM design themes and their interaction. Findings The authors find novelty-centred BM design is significantly related to firm performance while efficiency-centred design has no direct effect on performance. However, the authors also find that BME positively moderates the relationship between BMN and firm performance. Research limitations/implications The relationship between BM design and firm performance can be better understood if contextualised. In the paper, the authors find that different types of BM designs have different impacts on the performance of firms based in a developing economy. While novelty matters, quite surprisingly the authors find no support for efficiency. Additionally, the authors find the interaction between the two design themes (BM ambidexterity) to have a positive impact on firm performance. Practical implications The surveyed firms based in a developing economy appear to benefit from novelty-centred BM designs. Efficiency-centred designs have a more ambiguous role: while efficiency alone seems not to pay off, an efficient BM design may facilitate the market exploitation of a novel design. Originality/value This study responds to a precise call for additional quantitative empirical studies on the relationship between BM and performance. The study also contributes to an emerging stream of research focused on BM ambidexterity.


2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 567-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Giachetti

In this article, a theoretical framework to study the effect of service diversification on firm financial performance is demonstrated. Data on 48 Italian facility management firms from between 2000 and 2009 show a consistent inverse U-shaped relationship between service diversification and firm performance, with the slope positive at low and moderate levels of service diversification but negative at high levels of service diversification. Further, the results show that firm experience in the service industry and firm affiliation to a consortium positively moderate the relationship between service diversification and performance. The results of this study provide evidence of the importance of service diversification strategies for gaining a competitive advantage.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3866
Author(s):  
Joana Costa ◽  
Ana Rita Neves ◽  
João Reis

Open innovation is proved to be determinant in the rationalization of sustainable innovation ecosystems. Firms, universities, governments, user communities and the overall environment are called to contribute to this dynamic process. This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of the impact of open innovation on firms’ performance and to empirically assess whether university-industry collaborations are complementary or substitutes for this activity. Primary data were collected from a survey encompassing 908 firms, and then combined with performance indicators from SABI (Spanish and Portuguese business information). Econometric estimations were run to evaluate the role of open innovation and university-industry collaboration in the firm innovative propensity and performance. Results highlight the importance of diversity in collaborations with the academia and inbound open innovation strategy as enhancers of firm performance. The two activities reinforce each other. By testing the impact of open innovation practices on company performance, the need for heterogeneity in terms of contact type and university is also demonstrated. Findings cast light on the need to reformulate existing policy packages, reinforcing the ties with academia as well as the promotion of open innovation strategies. The connection to the innovation ecosystem needs to be further encouraged as well as the promotion of persistent connections with the knowledge sources in an open and multilateral framework.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-142
Author(s):  
Kim Foong Jee ◽  
Jia En Joanne Ngui ◽  
Pei Pei Jessica Poh ◽  
Wai Loon Chan ◽  
Yet Siang Wong

This paper examines the relationship between capital structure and performance of firms. The study is confined to plantation sector companies in Malaysia and is based on a sample of 39 firms which listed in Bursa Malaysia for the period from 2009 to 2019. This study uses two performance measures which are ROA and ROE as the dependent variable. Besides, the capital structure measures are the short-term debt, long-term debt, total debt and firm growth, which as the independent variables. Size will be the control variable in this study. Moreover, a fixed-effect panel regression analysis has been used to analyse the impact of capital structure on firm performance. The results indicate that firm performance, which is in term of ROA, have an insignificant relationship with short-term debt (STD) and long-term debt (LTD). For the total debt (TD) and growth, there is a significant relationship with ROA. However, for the performance measured by ROE, it has an insignificant relationship with short-term debt (STD), long-term debt (LTD) and total debt (TD). Furthermore, there is a significant relationship between the growth and the performance firms from plantation sector in Malaysia.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Castaldi ◽  
Marco S. Giarratana

This article analyzes the effects of diversification and brand breadth on firm performance for professional service firms (PSFs). The research aim is two-fold. First, we test whether moving into products may put at risk the core resources that sustain PSFs’ competitive advantage. Second, we study which branding strategies best match their diversification attempts. Broad (narrow) brands characterize a branding strategy with scarce (plentiful) associations to specific product characteristics. We analyzed trademark portfolios of 47 U.S.-based management consulting firms in the 2000 to 2009 time period. Panel regression results suggest that (1) PSFs always benefit from diversification when they remain pure-service providers; (2) performance is positively related to a strategy of specialized narrow brands.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohd Azrai Azman ◽  
Carol K.H. Hon ◽  
Bo Xia ◽  
Boon L. Lee ◽  
Martin Skitmore

PurposeMany large construction firms (LCFs) adopt product diversification (PD) to counter downturns and spread risks. However, no detailed information is available concerning the type of PD that improves their performance. In addition, it is still uncertain how much changes in institutional dimensions influence the effectiveness of PD. Therefore, the aim is to resolve this issue by establishing a model that shows the extent of this influence.Design/methodology/approachThe generalised method of moments (GMM) estimator is used to model the PD strategies of 86 LCFs in Malaysia over 14 years (2003–2016) and its impact on productivity and profitability performance.FindingsUnrelated diversification (UD) decreased firm performance in 2003–2016, while related diversification (RD) had a positive impact during the more liberal 2010–2016 phase. The models show that the impact of PD is highly dependent on changes in institutional dimensions.Practical implicationsFirstly, managers may adjust the type of PD and its level of diversification to improve firm performance. Secondly, they may devise PD strategies based on changes in institutional dimensions to maximise their effectiveness.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature by determining the optimal amount of PD (including RD and UD) and its impact on performance. Secondly, the study is the first to investigate the moderating relationship of the institutional dimensions of economic and regulatory institutions on PD-firm performance. Thirdly, the study is the first to explore the components of technical-scale-scope economies (movement towards and around the production frontier), this being crucial to the strategy that was only conjectured in previous studies.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (01) ◽  
pp. 1550004 ◽  
Author(s):  
DENISE M. CUMBERLAND ◽  
WILLIAM R. MEEK ◽  
RICHARD GERMAIN

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the impact of the five ESE dimensions on firm performance. More specifically, we examine whether any of the five ESE dimensions are important to firm performance when the external environment is either competitively intense or technologically turbulent. This study investigated these relationships using a sample of franchisees, an important audience understudied in entrepreneurial literature. We find that the three-way interaction of competitive intensity, technological turbulence and each of ESE innovation, ESE management, and ESE financial control predicts franchisee performance. This confirms the wisdom of studying ESE as consisting of specific dimensions (as opposed to holistically) because not all ESE dimensions interact with franchisee environment in predicting performance.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Changli Feng ◽  
Ruize Ma ◽  
Lin Jiang

PurposeWith the rise of service economy, many companies are attempting to gain a competitive advantage through service innovation. However, the existing research has not drawn consistent conclusions about the relationship between service innovation and firm performance. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to provide a quantitative review on the service innovation-performance relationship based on research findings reported in the extant literature.Design/methodology/approachStudies from 46 peer-reviewed articles were sampled and analyzed. A meta-analytic approach was adopted to conduct a quantitative review on the relationship between service innovation and firm performance, and the effects of any potential moderators were further explored.FindingsThe results found that service innovation has a significant positive impact on firm performance. Additionally, the relationship between service innovation and firm performance is influenced by measurement moderators (economic region and performance measurement), and contextual moderators (firm type, innovation type, customer factors and attitudes toward risk).Originality/valueThe meta-analysis has been used to explore the relationship between service innovation and firm performance, and the findings have contributed to the literature on service innovation, as well as providing future research directions.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaynab Dadzie ◽  
Ahmed Agyapong ◽  
Abdulai Suglo

Purpose This study aims to examine the mediating role of internationalization in the relationship between the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and performance, empirical study of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in a developing nation. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a sample of 158 exporting SMEs based in the sub-Saharan developing economy, Ghana. The use of hierarchical regression (ordinary least square analysis) was used by the researcher to assess the suggested model of the study. Findings Largely supporting the conjectural predictions, the study indicates that EO positively and significantly influences performance; internationalization fully mediates the relationship between innovativeness and performance of export firms; internationalization fully mediates the relationship between risk-taking and performance of export firms; and finally, internationalization partially mediates the relationship between competitive aggressiveness and performance of export firms. Managers are, therefore, encouraged to strategically develop both their EO and internationalization, as the study has confirmed that EO has both a direct and indirect relationship with performance. Originality/value This study integrated a resource-based view of the firm and international entrepreneurship theory as a theoretical foundation. Theoretically, internationalization’s mediating role reveals the relevance of this construct in the linkage between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. Furthermore, the study extends the entrepreneurial orientation concept to the international business literature by estimating and testing models of the mediating link between entrepreneurial orientation and performance. Moreover, the study seeks to broaden the knowledge of entrepreneurial orientation and its relationship with performance in small and medium businesses. The study further extends the limited studies on performance, driven by entrepreneurial orientation and internationalization in a developing nation (Ghanaian) context. This paper besides seeks to highlight the impact of entrepreneurial orientation on performance when channeled through internationalization. The study also reveals the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation to be important antecedents of internationalization, in attempts at unearthing the critical predictors of firm performance, especially those of international characteristics.


2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 486-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen-Ying Lee

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze product diversification, business structure and insurer performance with a comprehensive look at the property-liability (P/L) insurance operations. Design/methodology/approach Using a panel data, this study employs an ordinary least squares regression model, fixed effects model and random effects model to examine the impact of product diversification and business structure on the performance of P/L insurers. The study assesses insurer performance using both risk-adjusted return on assets and risk-adjusted return on equity. Findings The study finds that product diversification is significantly negatively related to the performance of P/L insurers. The results are consistent with the diversification discount theory. The empirical results reveal that business lines have significant impacts on firm performance, particularly on the lines of fire and marine insurances. Furthermore, the interaction between product diversification and firm size implies that product diversification significantly increases the performance of large-sized insurance firms. Originality/value The study provides some valuable insights into the effects of diversification and business structure on the performance of P/L insurers in a developing country. The study’s findings suggest that management of P/L insurers should clarify their objectives and carefully assess the company’s resources when dealing with product diversification and business structure. The results have practical implications for the financial services industry in Taiwan.


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